


Violets And Roses

by I_Write_Sins_and_Tragedies



Category: Dark Souls (Video Games), Dark Souls I
Genre: Cuddling, Flowers, Fluff, For a Friend, Gift Work, M/M, Tooth Rotting Fluff, so much fluff and I am not sorry at all, they're in love damn it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-08-16 16:07:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16498745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Write_Sins_and_Tragedies/pseuds/I_Write_Sins_and_Tragedies
Summary: After a successful dragon hunt, the strongest Knights of Gwyn stop to relax together in a little meadow. Where's the harm in taking a little break, after all?





	Violets And Roses

**Author's Note:**

  * For [macabrecabra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/macabrecabra/gifts).



> Happy birthday, Maca! I hope your day is filled with happiness :)

The sun shone warmly down onto a small meadow, glinting off thousands of dew drops that clung to each blade of grass. In the early dawn light, it seemed like a field of diamonds, and Ornstein surveyed it all with a low, wistful sigh.

It was a beautiful sight, to be sure. The sort he didn’t get to witness all that often nowadays, what with his dragon hunts growing all the more infrequent with each passing year. He’d quite like to savor it; perhaps stay until the flower’s bloomed, but he knew he shouldn’t indulge in such a luxury.

He and Artorias, whose footsteps he could hear just behind him, had to return to Anor Londo. Two of Lord Gwyn’s core knights couldn’t be away for too long, after all...

“How nice of you to wait for me, captain.” Artorias’ head tilted back in a yawn, voice wavering briefly as he fought with it. “It’s almost as though you aren’t desperate to return to your piles of paperwork.”

The dragon slayer snorted softly at that, shaking his head with a brief eye roll. “I never am.” But then, someone had to do it. And with his own forays outside of the city's walls growing less frequent...well...

He had to work hard, given his position, though some days he wondered why he could not just...train a few others to help lighten the load. Even with Ciaran’s consistent help, and Artorias more...occasionally chipping in, there was far too much to do. And Gough couldn’t help much, given the scale of everything in comparison to him.

 The Abysswalker paused at Ornstein’s tone, however, head turning to regard his companion. Even with both their helmets on, the captain could feel Artorias’ eyes burning into him. He shuffled his feet and turned slightly to face his fellow knight with a frown.

“What?”

Instead of answering him, Artorias looked back to the meadow, silent as he seemed to be in deep thought. And then, with little warning, he sat down with a loud rattle and sigh, making a big show of stretching.

“Well, captain, I’m feeling awfully tired after our hunt yesterday. We’ve barely taken a moment to rest...!” With a show of complete abandon, the taller knight shouldered off his pack, letting his share of their supplies fall clattering to the ground.

Ornstein stared, caught between exasperation and confusion, as Artorias pulled his helmet free and flopped out onto his back with a loud sigh.  

“Come on, captain, what is a little break going to do?” The Abysswalker grinned up lazily, stretching out with a low groan. He let his eyes slide shut, seeming to be sunning himself like an overgrown housecat. It brought an exasperated yet endeared sigh to Ornstein’s lips, and he loosely crossed his arms.

“We can’t be too long, Artorias, you know that...” Yet his tone held little conviction, sounding more akin to a grudgingly defeated parent than a commanding leader. Even as he spoke, the dragon slayer’s eyes were drifting down to the spot next to Artorias. A perfectly soft looking patch of grass all but begging him to lie down for a little while...

“Oh, a day isn’t that long. Besides, we’ve been walking and fighting in all this armor for almost a week.” Artorias said, half whining as he began picking his gauntlets off. With careless abandon, he tossed them aside, propping himself up soon to start working on his upper armor.

All the while, Ornstein watched with pursed lips and a half-hearted scowl. With every strap of Artorias’ armor undone, he started to shuffle his feet, swaying back and forth. It was the clank of the Abysswalker’s upper armor that finally made up his mind. With mocking defeat, he knelt down and deposited his own packs, and then turned his attention away to his armor.

From the corner of his eye, he thought that maybe he caught a hint of a smirk from Artorias, though he couldn’t be sure. The dragon slayer was more focused on peeling his own armor off, setting it aside neatly and feeling his aching shoulders slowly relax.

By the time he was left only in his leggings, Ornstein was leaning back somewhat to bask in the sun’s warmth. His eyes slid shut and he couldn’t help a yawn, sliding onto his back and slowly stretching. A part of him just wanted to drift off now, catch up on lost sleep... But he wanted to enjoy the comfortable heat and peaceful moment, not miss out on the day.

Grudgingly, the captain sat himself up again and reached down to finally remove his leggings. Each muscle ached and twinged as he leaned over, reminding him again of how little he’d relaxed in the past week. Sighing faintly, he pulled an arm across his chest and began to stretch, half shutting his eyes as he did so. The sun at least offered enough warmth that it was a more comfortable activity, though no less monotonous.

“If you’re sore, I could massage you if you’d like.” Artorias’ voice startled Ornstein out of his short-lived trance. The captain looked over uncertainly, noting how his companion was leaned forwards with a small, earnest smile. “I know your armor is heavier...you are sore, aren’t you?”

“Yes...but you really don’t have to. I’m sure a little stretching will loosen things up.” Ornstein shook his head with a small smile of his own. It wasn’t as though either of them were new to the aches and pains of wearing armor for a long time. He didn’t need to trouble Artorias for such a thing...

“I would like to. Stretching only gets so far.” Artorias tipped his head pointedly as Ornstein pulled an arm over his head. “There’s never an easy way to get the shoulders.”

A moment of silence passed as the dragon slayer mulled over his choices, eyeing his friend’s hands and glancing away. But eventually, he nodded and began shuffling more towards Artorias.

“Alright... Afterwards you’ll let me do the same for you, yes?” After all, the Abysswalker's armor may be lighter, relative to his own monstrous height. But those massive weapons of his surely balanced things out...

In the corner of his eye, he caught something that seemed to be a nod as Artorias settled behind him. Large, warm hands slid over Ornstein’s shoulders, gentle at first as they seemed to seek out any points of tension. And then, they began digging in, working slowly against the tight muscles through the captain’s shirt.

“If you’d like... You should try relaxing for now.” There was a hint of amusement in Artorias’ voice as he settled into his work.

Whether Artorias was sore or not, the strength in his hands was still clear to Ornstein as the massage progressed. It hurt quite pleasantly as he dug in and rubbed at all the sore spots. The captain forced back any winces that wanted to arise, tensing at any particularly painful points and seeming to communicate well enough that way. Each time he grew rigid, Artorias’ hands would soften their grip and rub more gently over the area, until he could build up to firmer holds.

Slowly, any tension seemed to fade from the dragon slayer’s body. In the warm sun, he was beginning to relax more and more with each passing moment. Through half-lidded eyes, he could see the flowers slowly opening wide to soak up the rays of light, standing out like jewels among the grass.

At some point, Ornstein felt himself start to lean backwards. He couldn’t quite determine whether or not he’d done so himself or if Artorias had guided him that way. But slowly, he felt his shoulders press against the taller knight’s chest, sliding down until he rested comfortably in his lap. One golden eye cracked open, squinting against the sun’s blinding light only briefly, until he noticed his companion’s relaxed demeanor and decided this had been planned.

With that, he let his eyes slide shut again, only relaxing further as one of Artorias’ hands began slowly combing through his hair. Every movement was gentle and deliberate, never tugging on any tangles, only working slowly through them until his hand could run through the captain’s hair without hindrance.

Despite having slept well the night before, Ornstein found himself beginning to drift off quickly. The world felt warm, soft, so comfortable...

He let out a contented sigh, ready to sink into sleep’s embrace just as he felt the slight poke of something that didn’t belong. It was that prod, followed by the odd sensation of something slim and firm rubbing against his scalp, that lured him back to wakefulness. Grumbling softly, he cracked his eyes open, blinking a few times to clear away the blurriness.

Artorias was sitting hunched over him, blocking out the sun and thankfully sparing Ornstein’s eyes from its piercing light. He smiled gently at the captain, not stopping the hand that continued to sift through his hair lazily. His other hand was moving back over from out of view, soon visible and holding a flower. Without a second thought, the Abysswalker gently slipped the flower into his friend’s hair, causing the same poking sensation as the one that had woken him.

“These flowers suit you...” Artorias smiled a little wider, voice soft and serene as he leaned away to retrieve another. Ornstein tilted his head slowly, a few long moments passing as he worked to find his voice.

“Violets seem more like you.” He turned his head a fraction to watch as Artorias’ hand returned with another flower, which was promptly tucked behind his left ear.

“In that case, I suit you.” Artorias’ face split into a small grin. Ornstein’s lips twitched at that, his cheeks growing warmer as an unstoppable smile overtook him.

“That you do...” Lazily, the captain reached up to cup Artorias’ cheek, rubbing his thumb back and forth gently. “Roses would look good on you...”

The taller man snorted, laughing quietly as he leaned against Ornstein’s hands. “How romantic. So you mean to say we’d have roses and violets, like that silly poem?”

Ornstein’s eyebrows lifted for a moment, needing a second to think before he grinned and chuckled along. “I hadn’t thought of that, but yes.” Artorias gained an impish smirk then, leaning lower and causing the dragon slayer to pause. “You aren’t actually going to—?”

“Roses are red.” He started, smirk breaking into a grin. Ornstein laughed again, shaking his head as he pawed at Artorias’ shoulder.

“We’re grown men, Artorias, really—”

“Violets are blue...”

“ _Children_ do this, this is embarrassing.”

“You have a stick up your arse.” Ornstein paused at that, words fleeing his mind briefly at the unexpected turn. Artorias grinned wider, now leaned down far enough that their faces were mere inches apart. “...But I still love you.”

The start of a groan from Ornstein was muffled by Artorias’ lips as the Abysswalker closed the space between them, effectively silencing any further protest. With a slight roll of his eyes, the captain gave up and returned the kiss gently, letting it linger until Artorias withdrew with a grin still in place.

“The fact that anyone takes you seriously when you are a complete child is ridiculous.” Ornstein grumbled, though he couldn’t hide his own smile by then. Artorias laughed again, leaning down to steal another kiss before settling again.

“A child, am I?”

“Completely juvenile.”

The grin slowly widened across Artorias’ face then, and his voice dropped into a teasing purr. “But since you’ve chosen me, I’d say that proves your own tastes are completely juvenile, captain.”

Ornstein scoffed softly, rolling his eyes as he grinned. Carefully, he head-butted his lover before settling back against his lap, drawing out another brief laugh. “Opposites attract. It’s the only explanation.”

“Is it, now?” Artorias smirked, returning the head butt gently.

“Absolutely. Your charm and looks had nary a thing to do with it.” Ornstein grinned then, pressing their foreheads together.

“Ah, yes... I saw the stick up your arse, and from that moment on, I knew.” They both fell into soft laughter then, drawing apart somewhat as they did. Ornstein shook his head as he playfully swatted at Artorias’ arm, propping himself up.

“Ever the charmer, you are." Before he could fully sit up, a pair of arms looped around Ornstein's waist, drawing him close to Artorias’ chest. He put up no fuss, rather leaning back comfortably to press close.

“I must be, to have won your affections." The tall knight placed a soft kiss to the crown of Ornstein's head, beginning to sway them back and forth slowly. Ornstein hummed quietly, resting his hands over the arms wrapped about him.

"Mm, it certainly helped." He grinned a touch, lacing his fingers with Artorias' soon as he sank further back against the Abysswalker.

"Or perhaps you just like using me as your bed." Artorias said, leaning back until his shoulders were cushioned by the soft grass.

Ornstein squirmed out of his hold then, rolling around to slot himself comfortably against his lover's side before settling again. He wrapped an arm about Artorias and took a moment to tangle their legs, gently nuzzling the taller man's shoulder.

"Can't it be both?"

Artorias smiled as the captain got settled, tucking him under one arm before reaching down to hold the hand resting on his stomach. The sun had only grown warmer by then, a comfortable glow blanketing them among the field's many flowers.

"You're a cuddle barnacle. I wouldn't be surprised if it was only one." Artorias grinned a touch at the protesting mumble that arose. Ornstein gently squeezed his hand, as though trying to argue in his increasingly sleepy state.

A chuckle escaped the Abysswalker with that. He returned the squeeze gently, placing another soft kiss to the top of Ornstein's head before he settled down as well. It wasn't a minute later before he could feel all the remaining tension vanish from the captain's body, shooed away by sleep again.

Artorias shut his eyes with a pleased sigh, listening to his love's soft breaths. In and out...in and out... A steady rhythm, slowly lulling him out of wakefulness as well...


End file.
